


Lend a Helping Hand

by sara_wolfe



Series: Winteriron Week [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 21:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19934572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_wolfe/pseuds/sara_wolfe
Summary: The helicarriers came down on a Thursday. Six days later, James Buchanan Barnes showed up on Tony’s front door.





	Lend a Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Winteriron Week, using the prompts "first meeting" and "secret caretaking"

The helicarriers came down on a Thursday. Six days later, James Buchanan Barnes showed up on Tony’s front door. 

Well, not literally his front door. Barnes walked into the lobby of Stark Industries and very politely asked the receptionist if Tony had time to speak to him. After being told that Tony was busy with meetings all day, Barnes settled down to wait. He’d been there for almost five hours by the time Tony wandered into the lobby after lunch.

He blinked at the sight of the Winter Soldier sitting in the lobby of his building, rubbed his eyes, and nope, not an illusion. SHIELD’s Most Wanted was leafing idly through an old TIME magazine, keeping a careful eye on the rest of the lobby without making it obvious that he was watching everything. 

“Marlene?” Tony asked the receptionist, cautiously. “What’s with our guest?”

“He came in this morning and wanted to speak to you, Mr. Stark,” Marlene told him. “I told him you were busy, but he’s been just sitting there since nine-thirty. I told him he could make an appointment,” she went on, raising her voice, pointedly, but Tony cut her off before she could finish. 

“I’ll take care of it,” he reassured her. Going over to where Barnes was sitting, he tapped the top of the magazine to get the other man’s attention. “Mr. Barnes, welcome to Stark Industries. Come with me, please.”

Barnes stood silently, trailing him across the lobby to Tony’s private elevator. It went to the lower levels, including several maintenance levels where Tony could call the suit to him in seconds if necessary. More importantly, it was inaccessible by anyone else currently in the building and could be completely locked down. 

“I hope you know,” Tony began, once they were on the elevator and moving down, “that the only reason I haven’t called the suit is that I got a phone call from Steve Rogers two days ago babbling about the miraculous return of his dead best friend and how he desperately wanted to find him.”

Barnes looked panicked at that. “You didn’t - please don’t tell him I’m here.”

Well that was an interesting reaction. “I haven’t, yet,” Tony admitted, after a second. “I’d like to know why I shouldn’t.”

If anything, that seemed to make Barnes even more anxious, so Tony switched tacks. “Different question,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

For a minute, it looked like Barnes wasn’t going to answer that one, either, but then he admitted, almost too quiet for Tony to hear, “It’s my arm. Something’s wrong.”

Tony had to admit, it took a lot of courage to admit a weakness to a potential enemy, after willingly walking onto his turf. But Barnes not only put himself within Tony’s reach, he was vulnerable and asking for help. 

“I’m not promising anything,” Tony warned him. “Fuck only knows what kind of shit science HYDRA used to make your arm in the first place. But, I’ll take a look.” As the elevator doors slid softly open a second later, Tony gestured expansively around him. “Welcome to my world.”

“Looks nice,” Barnes said, in a painfully obvious attempt at small talk, and Tony snorted out a laugh. 

“Hop up on the table over there and take your jacket and shirt off,” he replied, pointing to where he wanted Barnes.

“You’re not afraid of me?” Barnes asked, as he did what Tony told him. 

“See that camera up in the corner?” Tony asked, pointing up at the ceiling, and Barnes followed his finger. “That’s JARVIS, and if you try anything, he’s going to pump this room full of enough anesthetic gas to knock out half a dozen elephants. Should be enough to take even you down long enough for me to get the suit and finish things.”

“Best place for a kill shot is through the head,” Barnes offered, and Tony stared at him in horror. 

“Jesus Christ, no!” he exclaimed. “I meant tying you up and calling Rogers to come deal with you. I’m not killing you!” And then he couldn’t help himself. “Do you have any idea how hard it’d be to get brains out of my equipment?”

Barnes cracked a grin, just like he’d been hoping for, and Tony figured he’d sufficiently broken tension in the room.

“All right,” he said, coming over to Barnes, “let’s take a look at that arm.”


End file.
